Living Thelema: A Practical Guide to Attainment in Aleister Crowley's System of Magick

279 Pages·2013·1.61 MB·English

by  David Shoemaker

Published in 2013 by
Anima Solis Books
P.O. Box 215483
Sacramento, California 95821, USA
www.livingthelema.com
The Living Thelema name and all associated content is © 2013 David Shoemaker
All Rights Reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Phyllis Seckler material © 2013 The International College of Thelema www.intcot.org
Aleister Crowley material © 2013 Ordo Templi Orientis Cover design by Frater Julianus Illustrations ©
2013 Thomas Nelson Stewart IV
Solve et Coagula Design
www.solve-et-coagula.us/design.php
ISBN: 0989384411
ISBN-13: 978-0-98938441-4
ISBN:9780989384407
Unto Thee, my Lord Σ…….,
This kiss,
This soul,
This heart!
“Thou shalt mingle thy life with the universal life.”
-Liber Cheth vel Vallum Abiegni
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Part One: Tools for the Journey
1 An Introduction to the Qabalah
2 The Holy Guardian Angel
3 The True Will
4 Getting Started with a Basic Magical Regimen
5 The Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram
6 The Lesser & Greater Rituals Of the Hexagram
7 Liber Resh vel Helios
8 Methods of Ritual Construction
9 Asana & Pranayama
10 Meditation & Visualization Practices
11 Astral Projection & the Control of the Body of Light
12 Devotional Practices
13 Liber Samekh & the Invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel
14 Sexual Magick & Sexual Mysticism
Part Two: Perspectives on the Path of Attainment
15 The Methods and Tools of A.’.A.’.
16 Tarot & the Path of Initiation
17 Initiation & Tetragrammaton
18 The Chakras
19 The Role of the Ego in the Great Work
20 aThe Formulas of L.V.X. and N.O.X.
21The Right Use of Magical Power
22 21st Century Alchemy: The Science & Art of Mystery
23 Practical Applications of Alchemical Symbolism
Part Three: Life Outside the Temple
24 Patterns & Cycles in Magical Practice
25 Dreamwork
26 Relationships
27 Qabalistic Coping Skills
28 Psychotherapy
29 The Anima & Animus
30 Cognitive Therapy for Magicians
The Light of Life (1982)
About the Author
Organizational contacts
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my wife Anna and my son Andrew, for their love and
support, and for tolerating the many hours I was absent as I worked on this
material. Thanks also to my parents, my sisters, and my extended family, for a
lifetime of support and encouragement. I am sure I have not expressed my
appreciation for your presence in my life nearly enough. To my spiritual
forebears in A.·.A.·., Soror Meral, Soror Estai, Frater Saturnus, and Frater To
Mega Therion—I owe much gratitude for even being allowed to dip my toes into
the current of wisdom they initiated and nurtured over many decades. Special
thanks to my students, for teaching me so much every single time we interact. I
hope that in return, I have given you some measure of sustenance for your
spiritual journey.
Finally, I wish to acknowledge the following for their support, encouragement,
wisdom, and friendship across the years: Lon Milo DuQuette, Richard
Kaczynski, Craig Berry, Frater Sabazius, Soror Helena, Frater Puck, Howard and
Amy Wuelfing, Kim Knight, Geoff Leibinger, Robie Schriber, Vere and Lita
Chappell, James Fairman, Robert Fripp, Joseph Thiebes, Frater IAO131, Anna-
Kria King, James Eshelman, Andrew Ferrell, Gregory Peters, Joseph Larabell,
Frater Sohum, Robbi Robb, Charlotte Moore, Monika Mayer-Kielmann, and
Edward Mason.
For technical support on this project, many thanks go to: Frater Julianus, for
the beautiful cover design; Thomas Stewart, for his detailed illustrations; Kelli
Patton, Britta Cox, Monika Mayer-Kielmann, and Thomas Stewart, for
transcription assistance; John G. Bell, for all manner of online support; and
Charlotte Moore, Frater IAO131, and Anna Tsu, for proofreading and editorial
suggestions.
INTRODUCTION
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Looking back over the past 20 years of my involvement with Thelema, I have
often reflected on what exactly drew me to the Great Work. Life is simpler (at
least superficially) without all the self-discipline required of initiates, and one
can easily find a spiritual path with more cultural acceptance and societal
support mechanisms. There’s a church, mosque, ashram, and new age guru on
practically every block in today’s world, but I had a pretty tall order for any
spiritual system: Give me wonder and mystery, but don’t make me check my
brain at the door!
This spiritual and intellectual dilemma was more-or-less foreordained for me.
My father was an atheist philosophy professor, while my mother was a musician
and theologian from a deeply religious upbringing. I had to make sense of this
somehow—to find a way to reconcile these divergent worldviews and appreciate
the positive contributions each perspective had brought to my life. Luckily, my
parents were both open-minded enough to give me space to find my own
answers.
After graduating from college as a psychology major, I set off for graduate
school to become a psychotherapist. I learned all about the mainstream
cognitive-behavioral approaches to therapy, but the work of Carl Jung and other
so-called ‘depth’ psychologists was always tugging at my sleeve. After a few
years of exploration, I stumbled upon the work of Israel Regardie and, shortly
thereafter, Aleister Crowley and Thelema. I had finally found the solution to my
spiritual dilemma. Here was a path of passion, devotion, mystery and
transcendence; yet it was to be executed with scientific rigor and a healthy dose
of skepticism. “The Method of Science, The Aim of Religion.” Here I could
unify the best parts of the divergent perspectives my parents had shown to me
into a coherent whole, and forge a path uniquely my own. I immediately set
about contacting all the Thelemic groups I could find in those preinternet days,
and in the fall of 1993 my journey into initiation formally began. I joined Ordo
Templi Orientis, and I committed myself to the student path of A.·.A.·..
Before long, I found myself in the position of assisting in the training of more